Q&A with Chloe Berry: Building Book Buzz for Indie Authors

In today's competitive publishing landscape, printing your book is only the first step in bringing your story to life, because the next important step is getting copies into the hands of readers. As a book printing company, there are many details involved in the book production process that will affect the marketing and commercial success of a book. 

At FolioFox, we don’t just print final book copies but also print small runs of advanced reader copies for book reviewers to explore a story ahead of its publication. One of our partners, The Berry Agency, happens to include ARC distribution as a core service, amongst other marketing and support services for authors, so we thought we’d do a Q&A with their founder, Chloe Berry to share some insights. After years in publishing, Chloe founded The Berry Agency to support romance and fantasy authors struggling to navigate the digital marketing landscape, and help them launch their books for success. 

In this Q&A, we dive into some of the pre and post-printing processes authors should consider, and how services like beta reading, ARC distribution and Amazon A+ can transform your printed book into a bestseller.

Let's Chat to Chloe Berry!

Q: Hey Chloe, thanks for joining us today! After printing and shipping books, we don’t often hear what happens next from authors or publishers, so what are some of the specific challenges you noticed in the industry that led to creating The Berry Agency? 

A: So many things but I’ll try to narrow it down! There are so many steps in the process of getting your book out there and Indie authors have to find the right businesses and services for every single step. A lot of businesses may offer social media and some may offer ARC campaigns but it’s rare to find a business that offers it all. My goal with TBA was to be comprehensive enough that almost every step of the process is addressed in a service from beta readers to cover design to arc distribution! To circle back to the question, I think the challenge lies in trying to source creatives and people who can handle the logistics and it can be very overwhelming to know where to start!

Q: While we’ve printed many ARCs before, since they can be both physical and digital, how does beta reading differ from ARCs and where does it fit into the publishing timeline? 

A: Great question! Beta readers are much earlier in the process. They are giving feedback that will be implemented in what would become your arc copy! I recommend beta readers before you pursue any professional editing.This is so any changes you wish to make can be edited! Beta readers are essentially a focus group of readers. I always encourage authors to try and find readers who aren’t your family and friends who are simply readers going in almost blind, to give you an honest perspective and experience.

Q: When an indie author receives their printed books from us, what would you say is the best first marketing step they should be taking?

A: 100% film that unboxing! Unboxing videos always do well and everyone loves the anticipation of seeing what is inside that box. Make sure you get lots of content and send them out to the right people!

Q: ARC distribution has become popular amongst readers, especially when they have different cover artwork. Can you explain some of the thinking and strategy behind creating ARCs and how you source the right readers to send them to? 

A: ARC covers used to be pretty non-decript. They were a low budget way of getting the book out to early readers and reviewers. Now they are a marketing tactic (and often come out of the marketing budget). Book lovers on social media record and capture everything. ARC’s have been made to be memorable and stand out. You want viewers to feel fomo, you want them to be asking ‘what is this book?’. 

Q: We often have authors ask us about the quantity they should print for ARC distribution versus retail sales. What guidance would you give to authors about their ARC strategy?

A: It totally depends on budget, we have authors who choose to send 5-10 physical ARC’s out with their campaign and have the rest be e-readers or vice versa. My advice is to get a good gauge on the interest in your book and get that arc sign up list going early. From there, assess your budget and see what you can work with.

Q: Amazon has obviously become a huge player in book selling, for both physical and eBooks. It’s no wonder that Amazon A+ content optimisation has become a necessity! For authors who've invested in quality printing, how does optimising their Amazon listing actually impact their book sales?

A: Amazon A+ can’t be measured in clicks or ROI so it can seem like a mystery bet. To answer this, I am going to paste what I tell authors from amazon! 

“Amazon A+ Content helps your products perform better by increasing conversion rates, improving brand trust, and reducing return rates. Data shows that adding A+ content to product detail pages can drive an average sales increase of 3% to 10%, with Premium A+ content potentially boosting conversions by up to 20% or more.” 

To put it plainly as to why it might actually help on a books page: when you scroll down a book’s page, you will be shown similar books to buy as a suggestion. Scrolling through A+ delays the process and makes it more likely for a customer to stay on your page. Plus, you can convey some really cool information about the book through A+ assets that you may not fit in the blurb for example, tropes, reader reviews and more!

Q: Beyond ARCs and Amazon optimisation, what other promotional activities would you recommend to authors, for their physical books once they’ve been printed?

A: Oh this is a great question so to answer it properly I will do dot points!

• Bookshop outreach – reach out to your local bookshops and ask if they can stock your title (hot tip, ask them for a consignment form!).
• Libraries, and offer author talks, workshops and book club discussions.
• Organise book launches (even small ones with friends and family!)
• Pair with another author to share audiences (do an Instagram swap for a day!
• Reach out to your local newspapers/radio stations and even podcasts! Local radios love to highlight homegrown stories.
• Run giveaways and comps to bring traction to your social media accounts.

Q: Does your approach to marketing a book differ when an author is printing with a local book printing company (like us) compared to print-on-demand services like Ingram Spark and Amazon?

A: I would say it doesn't differ too much, it’s more a question of logistics and where you will have your book for sale. If you’re hoping to sell your books through your website, then all marketing needs to lead to your website and so on! Print-on-demand can make it more difficult to organise last-minute copies and copies for influencers as you are at the mercy of the amazon waiting line! 

Q: What’s one mistake you often see authors make from organising their printed ARCs or books, and launching them to the public?

A: I often see authors waste a huge amount of pages (which translates to $) on their page margins. Some books I see could be cut in half if their margins are professionally assessed which is hard to do when you print on demand, it goes straight to the printer so quality control is skipped and you don’t see the mistakes until they’re on your doorstep. Check your formatting and margins! 

Q: What’s one piece of advice you think every author should take into consideration when marketing their book?

A: Know your ‘comp’ titles and therefore you will know your audience. Does your book fall into the ACOTAR readership? Then study what they’re posting, how they post, what conventions they go to and so on. Stalk your audience (don’t literally stalk but you know what I mean!). Everything has been done and everything is oversaturated online, so I’m not above telling authors to use others' content as inspiration and follow their lead.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat, Chloe! There are so many valuable insights in your answers, and we hope that authors reading this find success after better understanding the various book marketing tactics and details for consideration.

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If you’re an author looking for support in social media marketing, content creation and publishing, check out The Berry Agency for marketing, editing, graphic design and ARC distribution services. They are kindly offering a 10% discount to all new customers until Feb 28th, when you mention 'FolioFox' in your enquiry. Catering to both traditional and self-published authors, their passionate and experienced team can help you grow your online presence, connect with readers, and/or navigate the complexities of book marketing in Australia’s publishing industry.

For guidance and support when it comes to book printing, get in touch with us to get started on bringing ARCs or final copies of your book to life.